Upcoming Event: Gymnastics versus Red Rocks Preview on December 12, 2025 at 7:00 PM
7:00 PM
Gymnastics
vs Red Rocks Preview
The University of Utah Athletics
Saturday, January 28
Salt Lake City, UT
1:00 PM
University of Utah
vs
Washington
#4 Red Rocks Host #25 Washington To Open Pac-12 Play
1/24/2023 1:00 PM | Gymnastics
Utah Gymnastics returns to the Huntsman Center on Saturday for Character Day.
MEET WEEK
Fourth-ranked Utah Gymnastics returns to the Jon M. Huntsman Center this Saturday, Jan. 28, to host #22 Washington for its annual 'Character Day' beginning with introductions at 12:45 p.m. MT. The Utes and Huskies will be televised on the Pac-12 Network to open conference action. Jim Watson and Alisa Mowe will be on the call for the Pac-12 Network, while Mike Lageschulte and Kyndal (Robarts) Pond will broadcast the meet on Utah's flagship radio ESPN 700.
FAN FACTS
• Doors open to the public at 11:30 a.m. MT. Tickets for the meet can be found here.
• There will be 14 various characters and Disney princesses on the concourse prior to the meet for interaction and photo opportunities. Kids are encouraged to wear their favorite costumes for Saturday's Character Day meet.
• The Kids Zone will be in sections 11-15 prior to the meet, and there will be a face painter, balloon artist, and other activities.
• Free Utah Gymnastics team posters and trading cards will be available in the concourse while supplies last.
• There will be a post-meet autograph session with the entire Utah Gymnastics team. This will be the only autograph opportunity of the season.
• The Red Rocks Collection will be on sale on the concourse as well. Gymnasts will also be signing leotards for those that would like to have it autographed after the meet.
GETTING TO THE MEET
• Fans can ride TRAX for free with their meet ticket.
• There is a new "Red Rocks Express" this season, which is a free shuttle service from the Guardsman Way Tailgate lot and Broadcast Center lot on Wasatch Drive. The shuttle will run continuously before and after the meet.
• Fans can view the 2023 parking map, including Red Rocks Express routes, here (PDF).
IN THE RANKINGS
Utah jumped a spot in the rankings after its competition at Oklahoma, improving to fourth place in the nation through three weeks of the 2023 season. The Red Rocks are the top beam team in the nation for the second consecutive week, while the vault team is now ranked third in the nation. Bars is 11th and floor is 12th heading into this weekend.
Individually, Utah is home to the top two gymnasts in the country on beam right now as Maile O'Keefe is ranked first with a 9.958 season average and Kara Eaker is tied for second with a 9.933 average. On vault, Jaedyn Rucker is fifth in the nation and Makenna Smith is tied for 12th. Grace McCallum rounds out the Utes in the top-25 individually, ranking 19th on floor.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Utah is coming off a season-best 49.525 on vault last week at Oklahoma. Utah only scored higher once on vault all last season (49.550 at UCLA). The 49.525 on vault is the fourth-best vault score in the nation this year.
The Utes scored a nation-best 49.675 on beam at the Rio Tinto Best of Utah and did not count a score lower than a 9.90. The 49.675 remains the highest score on any event by a team this season through three weeks of action.
• Maile O'Keefe has scored two 9.95s and a 9.975 on her three beam routines this season.
• Kara Eaker recorded her second career 10.0 on beam at the Best of Utah in just her ninth career beam routine. She is now one of eight Red Rocks in program history to earn at least two 10.0s in a career on beam, joining teammate Maile O'Keefe.
• Grace McCallum posted a 39.675 in the all-around at the Best of Utah and has only scored higher in the all-around once (39.775 at Washington, 2022). It was the fourth time of her career scoring a 39.675.
RED ROCKS ON THE RUNWAY
Utah's vault team has kicked off the 2023 season as one of the top lineups in the country. The Red Rocks are coming off a season-best 49.525 on vault at Oklahoma last weekend and currently rank third in the nation with a 49.408 season average. Utah scored better than a 49.525 just once all last season, and before that, had not scored higher since the 2018 season. The Utes have been led by reigning national champion Jaedyn Rucker, who is ranked fifth in the nation with a 9.925 average through three meets. She earned a share of the vault title at Oklahoma with a season high 9.975 to boost the lineup. Making an immediate contribution, Makenna Smith is averaging a 9.90 on vault to rank 12th in the country and most recently earned a season high 9.95 at Oklahoma. Abby Brenner and Lucy Stanhope are both averaging a 9.858 through three meets and Jillian Hoffman has led off the team consistently with a 9.817 average. Grace McCallum rounds out the lineup and added a 9.90 to the season high effort last week with her new Yurchenko 1.5.
SERIES STATS
• Utah leads the all-time series 65-0-2 against Washington, which includes a 25-0 record in Salt Lake City.
• The Red Rocks downed the Huskies 197.950-197.275 in Seattle last year during the regular season, while Utah beat Washington at home in 2021 by a score of 197.475-193.500.
• Utah has not lost against Washington in program history, but recorded ties in 2013 and 2001.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON
2022 Final Ranking: 31st
2023 Ranking: 25th
Huskies' Highlights: Washington scored a season high 196.550 at the Wasatch Classic in West Valley City, Utah, two weeks ago to place second behind UCLA and ahead of Minnesota and Boise State … The Huskies are averaging a 195.950 through three meets … Washington ranks 23rd in the nation on bars and 27th on floor to highlight its events … The Huskies are led by all-arounder Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, who is averaging a 39.317 in the all-around this season.
UP NEXT
Utah remains in Salt Lake City next week to continue Pac-12 play, welcoming the sixth-ranked UCLA Bruins to the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Friday, Feb. 3. The top-six Pac-12 clash between the Utes and Bruins will begin with introductions at 6:45 p.m. MT. The meet will air on ESPN2, marking Utah's third regular season meet broadcast on an ESPN network, which is the most in program history. The meet will be themed 'Top Guns' night at the Huntsman Center. Utah will pay tribute to the long-lasting tradition of the Top Gun theme song being played during introductions since the original movie came out in 1986.
Fourth-ranked Utah Gymnastics returns to the Jon M. Huntsman Center this Saturday, Jan. 28, to host #22 Washington for its annual 'Character Day' beginning with introductions at 12:45 p.m. MT. The Utes and Huskies will be televised on the Pac-12 Network to open conference action. Jim Watson and Alisa Mowe will be on the call for the Pac-12 Network, while Mike Lageschulte and Kyndal (Robarts) Pond will broadcast the meet on Utah's flagship radio ESPN 700.
FAN FACTS
• Doors open to the public at 11:30 a.m. MT. Tickets for the meet can be found here.
• There will be 14 various characters and Disney princesses on the concourse prior to the meet for interaction and photo opportunities. Kids are encouraged to wear their favorite costumes for Saturday's Character Day meet.
• The Kids Zone will be in sections 11-15 prior to the meet, and there will be a face painter, balloon artist, and other activities.
• Free Utah Gymnastics team posters and trading cards will be available in the concourse while supplies last.
• There will be a post-meet autograph session with the entire Utah Gymnastics team. This will be the only autograph opportunity of the season.
• The Red Rocks Collection will be on sale on the concourse as well. Gymnasts will also be signing leotards for those that would like to have it autographed after the meet.
GETTING TO THE MEET
• Fans can ride TRAX for free with their meet ticket.
• There is a new "Red Rocks Express" this season, which is a free shuttle service from the Guardsman Way Tailgate lot and Broadcast Center lot on Wasatch Drive. The shuttle will run continuously before and after the meet.
• Fans can view the 2023 parking map, including Red Rocks Express routes, here (PDF).
IN THE RANKINGS
Utah jumped a spot in the rankings after its competition at Oklahoma, improving to fourth place in the nation through three weeks of the 2023 season. The Red Rocks are the top beam team in the nation for the second consecutive week, while the vault team is now ranked third in the nation. Bars is 11th and floor is 12th heading into this weekend.
Individually, Utah is home to the top two gymnasts in the country on beam right now as Maile O'Keefe is ranked first with a 9.958 season average and Kara Eaker is tied for second with a 9.933 average. On vault, Jaedyn Rucker is fifth in the nation and Makenna Smith is tied for 12th. Grace McCallum rounds out the Utes in the top-25 individually, ranking 19th on floor.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Utah is coming off a season-best 49.525 on vault last week at Oklahoma. Utah only scored higher once on vault all last season (49.550 at UCLA). The 49.525 on vault is the fourth-best vault score in the nation this year.
The Utes scored a nation-best 49.675 on beam at the Rio Tinto Best of Utah and did not count a score lower than a 9.90. The 49.675 remains the highest score on any event by a team this season through three weeks of action.
• Maile O'Keefe has scored two 9.95s and a 9.975 on her three beam routines this season.
• Kara Eaker recorded her second career 10.0 on beam at the Best of Utah in just her ninth career beam routine. She is now one of eight Red Rocks in program history to earn at least two 10.0s in a career on beam, joining teammate Maile O'Keefe.
• Grace McCallum posted a 39.675 in the all-around at the Best of Utah and has only scored higher in the all-around once (39.775 at Washington, 2022). It was the fourth time of her career scoring a 39.675.
RED ROCKS ON THE RUNWAY
Utah's vault team has kicked off the 2023 season as one of the top lineups in the country. The Red Rocks are coming off a season-best 49.525 on vault at Oklahoma last weekend and currently rank third in the nation with a 49.408 season average. Utah scored better than a 49.525 just once all last season, and before that, had not scored higher since the 2018 season. The Utes have been led by reigning national champion Jaedyn Rucker, who is ranked fifth in the nation with a 9.925 average through three meets. She earned a share of the vault title at Oklahoma with a season high 9.975 to boost the lineup. Making an immediate contribution, Makenna Smith is averaging a 9.90 on vault to rank 12th in the country and most recently earned a season high 9.95 at Oklahoma. Abby Brenner and Lucy Stanhope are both averaging a 9.858 through three meets and Jillian Hoffman has led off the team consistently with a 9.817 average. Grace McCallum rounds out the lineup and added a 9.90 to the season high effort last week with her new Yurchenko 1.5.
SERIES STATS
• Utah leads the all-time series 65-0-2 against Washington, which includes a 25-0 record in Salt Lake City.
• The Red Rocks downed the Huskies 197.950-197.275 in Seattle last year during the regular season, while Utah beat Washington at home in 2021 by a score of 197.475-193.500.
• Utah has not lost against Washington in program history, but recorded ties in 2013 and 2001.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON
2022 Final Ranking: 31st
2023 Ranking: 25th
Huskies' Highlights: Washington scored a season high 196.550 at the Wasatch Classic in West Valley City, Utah, two weeks ago to place second behind UCLA and ahead of Minnesota and Boise State … The Huskies are averaging a 195.950 through three meets … Washington ranks 23rd in the nation on bars and 27th on floor to highlight its events … The Huskies are led by all-arounder Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, who is averaging a 39.317 in the all-around this season.
UP NEXT
Utah remains in Salt Lake City next week to continue Pac-12 play, welcoming the sixth-ranked UCLA Bruins to the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Friday, Feb. 3. The top-six Pac-12 clash between the Utes and Bruins will begin with introductions at 6:45 p.m. MT. The meet will air on ESPN2, marking Utah's third regular season meet broadcast on an ESPN network, which is the most in program history. The meet will be themed 'Top Guns' night at the Huntsman Center. Utah will pay tribute to the long-lasting tradition of the Top Gun theme song being played during introductions since the original movie came out in 1986.
Players Mentioned
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